PortLand Malt Shoppe in Duluth, MN

Jena Faust / Heavy Table

The availability of a real malt has become sporadic. The rise of shakes pushed by fast food chains has all but done away with the traditional malt. Low-calorie fruit smoothies, blended coffee drinks, and intense flavor-driven shakes have become a way of summer for many, helping push the malt to extinction. For those looking for a step back in time, the PortLand Malt Shoppe on the edge of Lake Superior in Duluth still delivers the 1950s-style malt — one that isn’t complete without a cherry on top.

PortLand Malt Shoppe became a malt shop in 1989, and it is in a small brick building that can’t get any larger. The building dates back to the 1920s when it was owned by the Northwestern Oil Co. and used as a gas station. There are only 15 flavors due to the limitations of freezer space.

Ice cream cones, sundaes, frozen yogurt, and floats are all available, but the 16-oz malt ($6.25) makes the line outside the PortLand Malt Shoppe last every day from April 2 to October 17. Malted milk powder, an ingredient and taste that has been left behind in the evolution of frozen drinks, is the driving force in the taste and texture of a malt at the PortLand Malt Shoppe. They’re smooth and easy to pull through a straw, and they leave the gritty texture of the malted milk powder in your mouth.

After two decades of malt-making experience and with half of the summer left, it’s likely that the line outside of the PortLand Malt Shoppe will only get longer. While the taste of malt is a rarity among the blended drinks of warm days, the PortLand Malt Shoppe has a malt deserving of a cherry on top.